The Junking Trrashformation Journey

silhouette

Another project inspired by Fixer Upper. You may remember my Scrap Wood Clock Faces and Words of Wisdom Window Signs. That show always has such cute decor ideas. I don’t remember which episode had the Philbert Grocery sign hanging on a dining room wall, but I was able to Google the image to get a better look.

It just so happened that a friend of a friend was getting rid of some old windows. These weren’t standard windows. They were huge. Perfect for large over-sized signs.

Since they were pretty heavy, the glass was pretty old and some were cracked, I decided the glass might not be a great idea to hang on a wall. Hubby was my glass remover. I think he enjoyed it…must be a guy thing. I grew up with brothers and I have three sons. I can imagine they all would have loved breaking the glass and not getting in trouble.

Hubby also cut my boards to replace the glass.

Finally it was time to get out my favorite crafting tool. My Silhouette. My fonts aren’t exactly like the original sign, but after perusing multiple font sites I think I found some that looked awesome on my sign.

I had never made a stencil this big. I had numerous sections, but I was able to easily piece them together like a puzzle.

I usually don’t mess with the bridges on my stenciled signs, but with this one I didn’t like them. After stenciling I simply filled them in. I also waited until after I attached the board to the frame to stencil the decorative corners.

This cute little set would be perfect in a child’s room, but would also blend well in other living areas of your home. It didn’t start out that way though…

This was a junk find I picked up this summer. The surface looked like a child had scribbled just about everywhere with markers. I’m thinking the child thought it needed a makeover too.

A lot of elbow grease and every cleaning tool I had in my arsenal got involved in the cleaning. Barkeeper’s Friend was the clear winner and my friend. 😉 I also removed the cloth seat covers and saved them as my pattern for new ones. A little bit of reconstruction on minor details and it was ready to restyle.

I started out with a light base coat. While it would have been fine to leave it that way, it had no personality or style.

I went over everything with a stain to give it that fabulous western finish that I love. Notice that I covered the umbrella holes.

But wait, it needed a little more something-something. Off to my Silhouette and a great western dingbat to cut small stencils. I think the black stenciled imaged give it a playful branding look.

The new chair covers were created from a denim futon cover I had in my stash.

Since my previous post highlighted a project using my new Silhouette Cameo, I decided to back it up a bit to show you my first project attempt with the Cameo. I had received my new favorite toy for Christmas. During the holidays my son was home from college and while home, he was planning to attend a wedding, but hadn’t gotten a gift yet. I was itching to give my new gift a go so I volunteered to make something.

The finished product turned out awesome, but it didn’t happen without a lot of trial, error and frustration. I learned a lot about what to do and what not to do, but the real key was to go to school. Silhouette School.

Silhouette School is key to learning everything a Silhouette can do, as well as answering questions on anything that isn’t readily apparent. I’m still learning and am very thankful for this resource. If you ever get a Silhouette, my best advice is to start at Silhouette School.

Okay, on to my first Silhouette stencil. After determining what I wanted my sign to say, I hunted through my computer’s fonts. Needless to say I didn’t find one that showed the elegance I wanted. Not a problem. I simply did a Google search for free fonts and downloaded one that sang to me. 😉 How cool is that! I have spent a small fortune over the years buying font cartridges for my Cricut! Not gonna happen no more!

After creating the design for my stencil in my Silhouette program, I created the bridges for each letter to make it work as a stencil. If you do not immediately grasp the process for this technique, Silhouette School has got you covered.

Since not all letters require a bridge, I was able to enlarge the design to give me a better visual for finding and bridging those that needed it.

I wanted to make the stencil large enough to fit on a blank sign I had left over from craft show projects, but my cutting mat was way too short. I decide to tape a Cricut mat to my Silhouette mat. I know, I know…don’t judge. I also taped two sheets of the card stock together to fit on the mats.

It worked…sorta. Cutting over the intersection of card stock that was taped together didn’t really work to good. Okay, to be honest, it didn’t work there at all. I had to get a craft knife out to finish the cutting on many of those letters.

Live and learn. My technique has improved since this first project. I now use one mat and one sheet at a time. I enlarge the design and fit a section to cut on one mat and that is all it cuts. I then re-position the enlarged design to cut a different section. Wash, rinse and repeat until all of the sections are cut…And then I tape each section together. Each cut section usually has a bit of the previous one on it so I use those bits as registration marks. Works like a freaking charm! That’s pretty much it for making the stencil.

Then it’s just a matter of stenciling the sign and adding hangers to the back.

Yep, I’m taking the plunge into an outdoor/spring show once again. I know this will surprise those of you that know me well. Outdoor shows are unpredictable because weather usually doesn’t cooperate. It looks like this Saturday will be no different. Yikes! Wish me luck. The forecast is calling for heavy rain/flooding and wind on Friday. If we are lucky enough to escape rain on Saturday, we will certainly have soggy ground and wind to contend with in our little piece of the park…

…but, I am going for it. I’ve been in creation mode for weeks and the following is just a peek at some of what I’ll have to offer.

Signs…

…Signs

….More Signs
I gave my new Silhouette a workout!

Western Style Bench
I am also selling the little HOME pillows.

Shabby Chic Desk Restyle

Train Case Makeover

Vintage Roller Skates

Shabby Chic End Table

Western Style Frame Crosses

They are priced to sell.

Antique Trunk Lid Coffee Table

This is a favorite OOAK. I’ve had the trunk for a few decades, but since it was so big I decided it needed to go. Well, I really can’t seem to let anything go without rethinking it so I took it apart and restyled the lid into a shabby chic coffee table.

Vintage Sewing Drawers

Of course I have tons more. These are just the things I remembered to take photos of before I packed them.

Cowley’s Outdoor Market-April 22 starts at 8 AM. Hope to see you there!